Viewpoint

Never before has it been more viable for educators to put instruction front and center of learning space design than now. Never before has collaboration with students and peers and with the world been more possible than now. So why are our learning spaces still so reminiscent of the past? Why are these spaces still so constrained?

This week at its Education and Research Conference (ERC) conference in Chengdu, Sun Microsystems made two announcements of open source collaborations with higher education in China. CT asked Sun VP of Global Education Joe Hartley for more information.

IBM announced today that it is collaborating with 250-plus universities in 50 countries to promote Service Science Management and Engineering (SSME) curriculum, with the ultimate goal of creating solutions for a "Smarter Planet." SSME is designed to produce students with the divergent combination of skills required--in business, technology, and social sciences--to work with complex systems and networks like the energy grid or water management. CT asked Jim Spohrer, IBM's director of Global University Programs, for more details.

The Medical University of South Carolina Medical Center receives about 50,000 faxes every month. To save paper and the environment, improve efficiency, and avoid the pitfalls of paper-based filing systems, they moved to an outsourced electronic fax service. They've achieved their goals, and the staff and users are 'hooked' on the new service.

Colleges and universities provide the cultural venue for young people to launch into life professionally and personally; they are the life spa where young people "get in shape" for adulthood. This spa aspect of college means that colleges and universities will probably remain in business for a long time to come.

Recently, some universities have decided to end their laptop programs for students because of the economic challenges facing those institutions. But what has been the effect on students? There's no clear or consistent answer.

The University of Missouri Journalism School, the Reynolds Journalism Institute, and their industry partners including Adobe, Apple, and AT&T are supporting student development work in order to find new ways to reach a changing audience that shuns traditional media. A series of contests will help analyze ideas fostered by the student work and make student products available for real-world applications.